The names of statesmen are often forgotten soon after their departure, but the case of Black Sea Governor Yevgeny Nikolayevich Volkov was different. After many years of slander, his name became known again in Novorossiysk, and his memory was immortalized in a bronze sculpture in the center of the former capital of the Black Sea province.

Yevgeny Nikolayevich Volkov was born into a noble family in Pskov and received an excellent military education. His father, Nikolai Volkov, was not only a leader of the noble assembly of Pskov but also a well-known portrait artist. Yevgeny chose a military career and soon became the commander of a battalion in which the heir to the throne was enrolled.

Volkov quickly became friends with the future Emperor Nicholas II, who invited him on a journey to the East. Upon returning to the capital, Yevgeny Nikolayevich was promoted to the rank of rotmistr, and in 1896 he became a guard colonel. His military career was successful, and in 1900 the young sovereign appointed him assistant to the Black Sea governor. The following year, Volkov became governor, and thanks to his efforts, the first bank appeared in the city, and rapid development began.

In 1903, Yevgeny Nikolayevich was promoted to major general, and in the tumultuous year of 1905, he temporarily held the position of mayor of Moscow. That same year, he became the governor of Taurida province and successfully dealt with revolutionary unrest. However, this event had a significant impact on him, and he decided to resign. Before the revolution, Volkov held various positions under Nicholas II, was promoted to lieutenant general, and retired in 1917.

After the Bolsheviks came to power, General Volkov joined the White Movement and was for a time the Black Sea Governor-General, after which he left Russia forever. He spent his last years in Bosnia, died in 1933 in Nice, and was buried in the Paris Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Trinity.